Reporter gene assays represent an important tool in studies of gene expression, permitting an understanding of what controls the expression of a gene of interest e.g., DNA sequences, transcription factors, RNA sequences, RNA-binding proteins, signal transduction pathways and specific stimuli. In particular, reporter assays can be used to identify nucleic acid regions important in gene regulation. Such regions may serve as potential targets for therapeutic intervention in the treatment or prevention of human diseases. Reporter assays can also be used to screen drugs for their ability to modify gene expression.
Typically reporter assays are used to identify a gene promoter region or specific elements within a promoter, such as transcription factor binding sites or other regulatory elements. Alternatively, such assays are used to study the response to various stimuli or agents of a promoter or regulatory element. In some applications, the reporter constructs used in the assay, or transfected cells, are introduced into an organism to study promoter function in vivo. Further, reporter assays can be used to study or measure signal transduction pathways upstream of a specific promoter.
By way of example, in the case of reporter assays designed to investigate putative promoter sequences or other transcriptional regulatory elements, nucleic acids to be interrogated are cloned into reporter plasmids in a location so as to permit the regulation of transcription of a downstream reporter gene, and thus expression of a reporter protein encoded by the reporter gene. The reporter protein should be distinguishable from endogenous proteins present in the cell in which the reporter plasmid is transfected for ease of detection, and preferably expression of the reporter protein should be readily quantifiable. The reporter protein is quantified in an appropriate assay and often expressed relative to the level of a control reporter driven by a ubiquitous promoter such as for example the promoter SV40. The control reporter must be distinguishable from the test reporter and is generally contained on a separate vector that is co-transfected with the test vector and used to control for transfection efficiency. Such assays are based on the premise that cells take up proportionally equal amounts of both vectors.
A variety of different applications for reporter gene assays involve measuring a change in gene expression over time or after addition of a compound, drug, ligand, hormone etc. This is of particular importance in drug screening. Following the addition of the drug, detecting a measurable change in levels of the reporter protein may be delayed and diluted as changes in expression levels are transmitted through mRNA to protein. A significant advance in such applications recently made by the present Applicant is the combined use of mRNA- and protein-destabilizing elements in the reporter vector to improve the speed and magnitude of response, as described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/658,093, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Various reporter gene assay systems are commercially available utilising different detectable reporter proteins, the most common being chloramphenicol transferase (CAT), β galactosidase (β-gal), fluorescent proteins and luciferases.
Luciferase is the most commonly used reporter protein for in vitro assay systems. Luciferases are enzymes capable of bioluminescence and are found naturally in a range of organisms. In commercially available assay systems, luciferases are typically divided into those which utilise luciferin as a substrate and those which utilise coelenterazine as a substrate. The most widely employed example of the former is firefly luciferase, an intracellular enzyme. Additional examples of luciferases utilising luciferin include those derived from other members of Coleoptera, such as click beetles and railroad worms, and Diptera (as disclosed, for example, in WO 2007/019634). Luciferases utilising coelenterazine are typically derived from marine organisms such as the soft coral Renilla or the copepod Gaussia. Renilla luciferase is intracellular, whereas Gaussia luciferase in its native state is a secreted enzyme. Other secreted luciferases include those from Metridia longa, Vargula hilgendorfii, Oplophorus gracilirostris, Pleuromamma xiphias and other members of Metridinidae. 
Luciferase-based assay systems may employ more than one luciferase, typically of different origin and each utilising a different substrate, enabling both test and control reporter to be measured in the same assay. The ability to measure the signals emitted by multiple luciferases in a single sample provides obvious benefits, including the ability to measure multiple parameters in a single experiment. Typically, two different reporter genes, differing in both the type of luciferase encoded and the regulatory element of interest controlling expression of each luciferase are inserted into a single cell line.
By way of example, a putative promoter element is cloned upstream of a firefly luciferase reporter gene such that it drives its expression. This plasmid is transiently transfected into a cell line, along with a control plasmid containing the Renilla luciferase gene driven by the SV40 promoter. First luciferin is added to activate the firefly luciferase, activity of this reporter is measured, and then a “quench and activate” reagent is added. This reagent contains a compound that “quenches” the luciferin signal and also contains coelenterazine to activate the Renilla luciferase, the activity of which is then measured. The Promega Dual-Glo Luciferase Assay is one example of such a system.
The level of firefly luciferase activity is dependent, not only on promoter activity, but also on transfection efficiency. This varies greatly, depending on the amount of DNA, the quality of the DNA preparation and the condition of the cells. The co-transfected control plasmid (Renilla luciferase driven by a suitable promoter such as the SV40 promoter) is used to correct for these variables, based on the premise that Renilla luciferase activity is proportional to the amount of firefly luciferase plasmid taken up by the cells. Alternatively or additionally, the Renilla luciferase may be used to control for other variables, such as cell number, cell viability and/or general transcriptional activity; or may be used to determine whether a particular treatment or compound applied to the cells affects both promoters or is specific to one of them.
An alternative method for distinguishing the signals of two or more luciferases in a single sample is exemplified by TOYO B-net's Multicolor-Luc Assay, which utilizes three different beetle luciferases that act on the same substrate (luciferin) but which emit light at different wavelengths. However, in this case optical filters are required to separate the different signals and this leads to a reduced quantifiable signal per luciferase.
It is desirable to employ a dual-luciferase assay system that allows the test element (e.g. promoter) to be linked to a highly sensitive luciferase system, such that it provides sufficient signal intensity over a wide range of different applications, including the use of weak promoters or difficult to transfect cells. Signal strength is far less important for the control reporter because; a) the control is not essential to the experiment and; b) a strong control promoter, such as SV40, RSV, EF1alpha or CMV can be selectively chosen to ensure that sufficient signal is generated. In other words, a luciferase that generates only a weak signal (per molecule of luciferase protein or luciferase gene) can be selectively combined with a strong control promoter to ensure that a detectable signal is generated. Users do not have this flexibility in terms of choosing test promoters.
In this context the commercially available Dual-Glo Luciferase Assay (Promega) has the disadvantage of utilizing the more sensitive Renilla luciferase for the control reporter and the less sensitive firefly luciferase for the test reporter. Further, the system requires that firefly signal is measured first.
The commercially available Multicolor-Luc Assay system (TOYO B-net) utilizes three beetle luciferases that have even lower sensitivity than firefly luciferase. Furthermore, it is not possible to measure an individual luciferase without the use of filters, which results in a further loss of sensitivity. Additionally, most commonly used luminometers are not compatible with protocols requiring discrimination of multiple wavelengths.
Luciferase-based assay systems, in particular those utilising one or more intracellular luciferases, typically employ two buffers, a lysis buffer and an assay buffer. The lysis buffer is added to the cells first to lyse the cells and thus release luciferase, facilitating subsequent measurement. An assay buffer containing the luciferase substrate and any cofactors is then added, after which, a measurement of luciferase activity is taken. Measurement may be made immediately (i.e. within seconds) of the addition of the assay buffer (so-called “flash” reaction), or minutes or hours later (so-called “glow” reactions) by using “glow” reagents in the assay buffer that keep the light signal stable for an extended period of time. Flash reactions provide the highest signal strength (light units per second) and thereby have the advantage of providing highest sensitivity. Glow reactions are particularly advantageous in applications where, for example, the user does not have a suitable luminometer (equipped with injectors) readily available or in some high throughput screening applications where batch-processing requires a delay between injection and measurement. Glow reagents for Coleoptera luciferases can be produced by including a thiol such as CoA or DTT in the reagent composition (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,650,289 and 5,641,641). DTT has also been shown to extend the glow of Renilla luciferases (U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,809).
There are a number of disadvantages associated with existing buffers and reagents for luciferase reporter assays.
In particular, there is a need for reagents, reaction compositions and kits, including multi-luciferase systems that provide improved sensitivity in luciferase reactions; that is, a signal strength of greater intensity than is achievable with existing reagents. This is of particular relevance where the reporter gene assayed provides only low levels of luciferase in the cells of interest, for example, where the promoter being studied has only low activity, and/or where the cells of interest are difficult to transfect/transduce with the reporter vector. Increased sensitivity would also facilitate the miniaturization of reporter assays by reducing the minimum number of cells required to yield a signal strength that can be reliably measured.
When utilizing assay systems including destabilizing elements such as those described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/658,093, the steady-state luciferase signal is reduced. Thus, reagents that provide higher signal strength would be particularly advantageous for reporter assay systems utilizing destabilizing elements.
Also in the context of improving the signal strength or sensitivity of a luciferase signal, an assay reagent with reduced background luminescence would improve performance by increasing the signal to noise ratio, providing the reduction in background is not associated with a reduction in the true luciferase signal.
Existing methods for quantifying bioluminescence in multi-well plates tend to suffer from the problem of light leakage between wells. A signal that decays rapidly would minimize this unwanted artefact whilst also enabling the subsequent measurement of additional parameters that utilize light emission or fluorescence as a read-out. With current luciferase assay systems some level of light emission persists long after measurement, even with the use of so-called ‘flash’ reagents. This signal serves no useful purpose as the intent of flash reactions is to measure light emission immediately after injection of assay buffer. Moreover, the persisting signal can interfere with subsequent measurements of luminescence or fluorescence. In some contexts a quenching reagent could be added to terminate the luciferase signal. However, a self-terminating signal that does not require this additional pippetting step would provide a simpler and more preferable system.
A further limitation of current luciferase assays is the number of different luciferases that can be distinguished and measured in a single sample. As described above, quenching reagents and differences in emission wavelength have been utilized to separate signals generated by two or three different luciferases. An additional means of separating the signal from different luciferases would enable assay systems capable of measuring four or more different luciferases and therefore enable the analysis of four or more different parameters in the same sample. To enable simultaneous measurement of multiple different luciferases, it is necessary to have a reagent system capable of supporting the activity of the different luciferases. Further, to enable sequential activation and measurement of multiple different luciferases, it is necessary to have a reagent system that allows termination of the first luciferase reaction without impeding subsequent luciferase reactions.